Among the following, the molecule with highest dipole moment is : — Chemical Bonding Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Step 1: CCl4 is completely non-polar (μ = 0) due to its perfect tetrahedral symmetry. For chlorinated methanes, the dipole moment is determined by the vector sum of C-H and C-Cl dipoles. Step 2: As the number of highly electronegative chlorine atoms increases from one to three, their individual C-Cl dipoles begin to oppose one another because of their tetrahedral orientation. Step 3: This spatial opposition reduces the net dipole moment in the order of CH3Cl (~1.87 D) > CH2Cl2 (~1.60 D) > CHCl3 (~1.03 D), making CH3Cl have the highest dipole moment (option a).